HE IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA

In 1994 my father preached this message at Faith Crusaders Church in Urbana, Illinois. Though he went to heaven in 2007, his words are yet inspiring.

"Who is He in yonder stall,

At whose feet the shepherds fall?

'Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!

 'Tis the Lord, The King of Glory! 

At His feet, we humbly fall,

Crown Him, Crown Him

Lord of All!"

Revelation 1:4-8.   

"John to the seven church which are in Asia:  Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits (the Holy Spirit) which are before his throne;  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.  Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.  Amen.  Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:  and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, which is to come, the Almighty."

"I am Alpha and Omega!  It is as if He had said, "I am A to Z," for Alpha is the first, and Omega the last letter of the Greek alphabet.  He is our everything.   

If He is the A to Z, then He is the Second Adam.  The first Adam forfeited our life; the second Adam reclaimed it for us.  He is our Advocate, He is the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, He is the Amen.  He is the Apostle of our Profession, He is the Arm of the Lord, He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, He is the Author of Eternal Salvation!

He is the Beginning of the Creation of God, the Beloved Son.  He is the Blessed and only Potentate.  He is the BRANCH.  He is the Bread of Life.

He is the Captain of our Salvation, He is the Chief Shepherd, He is the Christ of God, He is the Consolation of Israel, He is the Chief Cornerstone, He is the Counselor, He is the Creator.

He is the Dayspring.  He is the Deliverer, He is the Desired of All Nations.  He is the Door!

He is the Elect of God, He is the Everlasting Father, He is the Faithful Witness, the First and the Last.  He is the First Begotten, and He is the Forerunner that is entered within the veil.

He is the Glory of God, He is God Himself Incarnate, He is God Blessed forever.   He is the Good Shepherd!   He is the Governor.  He is the Great High Priest.

He is the Head of the Church, the Heir of All Things.   He is the Holy Child, He is the Holy One, the Holy One of God, the Holy One of Israel.  He is the Horn of Our Salvation.

He is the Great I AM.  He is the Image of God.  He is Immanuel, God with us!

He is Jehovah, He is Jesus our Savior.  He is Jesus of Nazareth, He is the Judge of Israel, He is the Just One.

He is the King, He is the King of the Ages, He is the King of the Jews.  He is the King of all Kings, and the King of Saints!

He is the Lawgiver.  He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.  He is our Leader, our Life.  He is the Light of the World.  He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and He is the Lord of All.  He is the Lord of Glory.  He is the Lord of Lords.  He is the Lord our Righteousness.

He is a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  He is our Mediator.  He is the Messenger of the Covenant, the Messiah.  He is the Mighty God, He is the Mighty One.  He is the bright and Morning Star.

He is The Nazarene.

He is the Only Begotten Son.  He is our Passover.

He is the Prince of Kings.  He is the Prince of life.  He is the Prince of Peace, and He is our Prophet, Priest and King!

He is the Quencher of thirst for the Water of Life.

He is the Redeemer, the Resurrection and the Life.  He is our Rock and our Salvation.  He is the Root of David, and the Rose of Sharon.

He is our Savior.  He is the Seed of the Woman spoken of in Genesis, and the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.  He is the Son of the Blessed, the Son of David, the Son of God.  He is the Son of Man.  He is the Son of Righteousness.

He is the True Light.  He is the True Vine.  He is the TRUTH.

He is the Unleavened Bread that came down from Heaven. 

He is the Vine of whom we are but branches.

He is the true Witness.

And I violate the spelling to say, He is the One who speaks from the more Xcellent Glory!

He is the Word of God, made manifest that we should behold His glory, as of the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth.

He is One who is Yea and Amen!

And what to do for a "Z"?  Why He is Savior of Zacchaeus, and of all who have fallen into the depths and dregs of sin!  Respectable sinners.  Disreputable sinners.  Jesus Christ is Savior of us all.

"Zacchaeus, come down.  I am going to your house today!"  Glorious invitation, and issued yet again:  "Come down in repentance and faith!  Jesus will go home with you today!"

TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY

“Merrrry Christmas!”   The Town Crier lifted his voice above the chatter of villagers excitedly walking down the cobblestone streets of the 16^th century English village.  It might have been Stratford.  Or maybe it was Oxford.  Perhaps it was Epworth.  Actually it was probably all three, and in hundreds of other villages and towns scattered throughout Britain. Then the Crier began to sing:

“GOD rest ye merry Gentlemen,

LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY!

Remember CHRIST our SAVIOR, was born on Christmas day!

To SAVE US ALL from SATAN’S POWER,

When we were gone astray,

OH, TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY!

COMFORT AND JOY!

OH, TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY!”

As I was asking the LORD for direction at this Christmas Season, I was captured by two words of the carol—COMFORT and JOY!  I thought how illusory and temporary is the comfort of this world.

Jesus himself emphasized the difference between that which the world offers, and what He would bring.  In speaking of PEACE, Jesus said, “my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).

The only PEACE that the world knows is the peace that is imposed by the threat or the actual use of external force.  But THE PEACE THAT IS FROM ABOVE is imparted by GOD to HIS People.  The prophet declares, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.”  (Isaiah 26:30)

The only COMFORT that the world knows is the comfort that comes from those around us.  I have often been amazed at the silly words people offer to those who are grieving. I’ve stood at the side of the departed and listened as friends have consoled themselves saying, “she has her angel wings now.”  I have no idea where this idea came from, but it certainly wasn’t God’s Word. 

The COMFORT that comes from GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT is based on the infallible, immutable, Promises of GOD’S WORD.  Our source is the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present GOD who is the CREATOR of the universe.  Our security is in the CHRIST who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.  Our assurance comes from the HOLY GHOST who “bears witness with our spirits,” “intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered,” and sanctifies the hearts of the redeemed.

The only LOVE that the world knows is sensual (physical) and temporal.  Too often what the world calls love is actually only infatuation.  The LOVE that comes from Heaven is LOYAL, SPIRITUAL, and ETERNAL!  The Scriptures tell us that this love is longsuffering, always kind, never envious, and does not push itself forward in pride.  The LOVE that GOD imparts,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth:   (1 Corinthians 13)

The PEACE, the COMFORT, the LOVE of GOD are all so different from that of this world. 

Even the GODLY SORROW is different from the SORROW of this world.  When the world is sorrowful over their misdeeds, they are just sorry they were caught.   But GODLY SORROW, the Bible tells us, WORKS REPENTANCE!  That means that GODLY SORROW brings us to the point of sincere repentance.  We are not only sorrow for our sins, we are sorry enough that we will, with God’s help, turn from them!  All of them!

And there is this truth.  THE JOY OF THE LORD is totally different from the HAPPINESS of this world.  The world’s happiness depends on happenings or circumstances.  They are happy when they get a new car.  They are happy when people applaud them.  They are happy when they sit down to a delicious meal.  But when the car is wrecked, when the crowds are gone, and when the meal is finished, then what?

GODLY JOY is centered in CHRIST.  Jesus encouraged His disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”  (John 15:11-14)

That’s why CHRISTIANS can take joy even amidst trials and tribulations—they know that their joy is not based on the things of this earth. 

My daughter recently checked out an Apple I-pad from her school library.  As we launched “Google Earth” a program that will literally take you around the world, we looked for the Colosseum in Rome.  It was so amazing to see that screen travel around the world to Italy, then close in on Rome, and finally take us to the Colosseum.  As we looked, I told Tressa about the Christians who died there as thousands of Romans jeered in the stands.  I told her how that parents were forced to watch their children thrown to the lions, how husbands would watch their wives eaten by the ravenous beasts, and how that finally the men would be tortured and killed. 

As we talked about those ominous days, days when thousands were martyred for their faith in Christ, I was reminded again of our Savior who “for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Father.” (Hebrews 12:2).  

Ah this is a joy that is, as the Apostle Peter tells us, “joy unspeakable, and full of glory!” (1 Peter 1:8).

Dear readers, at this season, do not forget:

OUR COMFORT,

OUR PEACE,

OUR LOVE, and

OUR JOY

are found in the SAVIOR who was born of the virgin in the City of David!  Now that is what I call, “Tidings of comfort and joy!”

ONE NATION UNDER GOD?

Standing and placing our right hand over our heart we face the American flag to respectfully pledge our allegiance to “…one nation under God.” But I’m wondering—are we?

ARE WE “ONE NATION?”


Are we one in purpose? Do we love one another as Christ’s teaching commands, or do we detest each other?

Discord and distrust are on the rise. We call ourselves the “United States,” but increasingly we are the “Divided States of America.”

Immigrants from every part of the globe once streamed into our nation thrilled with the possibility of embracing the American way of life. United by a common faith, a shared culture, a profound respect for liberty, and a deep respect for our great civilization, we became Americans. Out of many, we became one.

But today the gate-keepers of our nation—our national leaders, our educators, and our media both news and entertainment—are trashing Western Civilization as a grotesque blunder. For them liberty is illusory, culture is considered provincial, morality is a matter of personal preference, and faith is devalued as myth (embracing Karl Marx, the father of Communism, they see religion as the opiate of the masses).

The divide couldn’t be more pronounced. One writer laments:

“Half of America views abortion as the killing of the unborn, meriting the wrath of God. The other half regards right-to-life as a reactionary movement and repressive ideology… Advocates of gay marriage see adversaries as homophobic bigots; opponents see advocates as seeking to elevate unnatural acts to the moral and legal status of sacred matrimony…Christmas and Easter, the holy days of Christendom, once united us in joy. Now we fight over whether they may be mentioned in public schools.” The Suicide of a Superpower, p.3

Cynicism has produced skepticism. Skepticism has morphed into disbelief. And disbelief will ultimately destroy us. G. K. Chesterton is right, “When we cease to worship God, we do not then worship nothing, we worship anything.”

ARE WE “UNDER GOD?”


Certainly the courtroom antics of atheists and the classroom efforts of secularists have convinced large numbers of Americans that the wall of separation between the church and the state should insulate the state from the influence of the moral precepts of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

We have been told that the surest way to guarantee liberty is to remove God from our national psyche. Without the constraints of Divine law and the knowledge that God will bring every work into judgment, we will finally be truly free.
But liberty is not the absence of law. Liberty is a blessing secured by adherence to the Law of God as revealed in the Holy Bible.

For example:

Our freedom to live is secured when people observe God’s commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Our freedom to know what is true is secured when people obey the commandment, “Thou shalt not lie.”

Our freedom to own personal property is guaranteed when those around us honor the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

We need God. We need to be a nation “under God.” President Reagan once quipped, “We will either be one nation under God, or we will be one nation gone under.”

Some have tried to redefine God as any higher power we can imagine. But just as the Bible is of no private interpretation—it means what it says not just what we think it says, so the living God is not what we suppose Him to be—He is who He is!

The comedian and atheist Bill Maher taunted Christian believers at the Oscars ceremony in 2009 saying, “our silly gods cost the world too greatly.”

Maher is “absolutely right,” shot back Rod Dreher, “our silly gods have cost the world too greatly.

"The god of hedonism [pleasure] and sexual indulgence…has given us a world of broken marriages, shattered families, the destruction of the traditional family, miserable deaths from AIDS, epidemic teen pregnancy, fatherless children, and the social (even criminal) dysfunction that accompanies such, and a younger generation unmoored from sexual sanity.
The god of money, which rules Wall Street and Washington, has delivered the world to a present and future calamity that will cause suffering not seen in at least a century.

…The truth is not that God has failed us, but that we have failed Him!”

These days it is not hard to see that our nation is heading the wrong direction. Morally, politically, financially, socially, physically, and certainly spiritually we are a nation at risk.

Yet I am convinced that if we were again “…One nation under God,” we would not only find solutions to the perplexing problems of our day, but we could once again be “the city set upon a hill, that cannot be hid!”

When a nation is in decline the citizens lament, “what can I do? I am only one.” When the nation falls they confess, “I could have done my part!”

HERE IS WHAT WE CAN DO!

1. Faithfully Pray! Pray without ceasing. Pray specifically—for ourselves, our families, our churches, our communities, our leaders. Pray that the lost will be saved, that backsliders will be reclaimed, and that Christians will be Pray that the wrong will fail and that the right will prevail! Actually, we need men and women who will fast and pray. These are critical days.

2. Embrace the Truth! Jesus said that “the truth shall set you free.” We need to know God’s Truth as revealed in His Word. That will only happen as we set aside time every day to read and meditate and study the infallible, inerrant Bible.
We need to know the truth about our times. We need to know the truth about our Churches. We need to know the truth about ourselves.

3. Live Righteous Lives. We need men and women who will commit themselves to Christ so that they will think right, do right, and be right. Unless God’s people will purposefully separate themselves from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and determine to be “salt and light” in this wicked and perverse generation, we will continue slouching towards Gomorrah! Virtue is the need of this late hour. Run from sin, avoid the appearance of evil, and follow in the footsteps of Christ.

4. Pursue Holiness. The Bible says “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Only “the pure in heart” will see God. Only “the pure in heart” will bring forth “fruit unto holiness.” It is time for God’s people to stop rationalizing their disobedience and rebellion to God and begin actualizing their love for God by surrendering wholly to Him.

5. Work & Witness. Faith and works are inseparable. When we believe God we honor His Word and His Will. Like our Lord Jesus we will be “moved with compassion” when we see those in need. We will share our testimonies, share our blessings, and share life together.

If God’s people across our nation would make these five commitments our nation may escape God’s final judgment. When the very existence of Israel hung in the balance, the Prophet Daniel prayed a prayer we would do well to repeat: (See Daniel 9)

4 O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. …9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him…

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice…
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake… 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

28 YEARS OF GOSPEL MINISTRY

This Sunday, June 5, will mark my 28^th Anniversary in the ministry. After completing a degree in Business Administration at the University of Illinois in 1980, I graduated from CHRIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY on the last Sunday of May 1983. 

The very next day I reported for work as a full-time associate Pastor at Crusaders Church in Urbana, Illinois. My great Father was the Senior Pastor and my boss. (Truthfully that was no different than the day before!) Because I had the privilege of growing up in the parsonage and have always enjoyed the work of the Lord, I loved my new assignment.

Our Sunday School Bus ministry grew to average over 300 riders on 7 routes. Our record attendance shot above 800. We began a Saturday Afternoon Bible Club that grew to nearly 50. We started a ministry in the Illinois Department of Corrections Facility near the church. We edited and expanded FAITH IN THE FUTURE, our monthly publication read by over 2,000 families in 30 states. We began a radio ministry called THE CRUSADERS PULPIT that was aired on 4 radio stations and heard internationally in Latin America. We went Door to Door calling every week, preached outdoors on the campus of the University of Illinois, and organized Open Forum Ministries at the University of Illinois, Purdue University in Lafayette, IN, and at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. We met with the Teens on Fridays. I taught at KINGSWOOD SCHOOL, a K-12 Christian School led by my Brother Marsh. I helped my brother with the Citizens For Decency, a grassroots effort against pornography, and then was co-founder of the Coalition for Traditional Values in Champaign County. Those were great days.

In 1996 my new bride and I (Vickie and I were married on June 21 of that year), moved to St. Louis to launch a Crusaders Church in St. Louis. We called the new church FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH. Our first Sunday, September 15, we were thrilled when 27 from St. Louis attended services in the Knights of Columbus Hall on Adie Road in St. Ann, MO.

From that humble beginning, FCC has grown into a thriving ministry touching hundreds of souls each week with the message of full salvation. Often we have to go where the people are, but that’s our calling! There are people in heaven today because FCC reached them with the Gospel. The Gospel Truth is preached in love without compromise. Our altars are not barren. Those hungry for salvation, seeking sanctification, and longing for God’s touch have prayed their way through to victory here. Young people have met, couples have married, and children have been born and dedicated to the Lord. Time and time again the family of God known as FCC has reached out to help one another. 

We are strategically located along a major St. Louis thoroughfare (25,000 cars pass our church each day), on 2 acres of land with a lovely colonial building that seats 250 and has nearly 100 parking spaces. Our congregation is growing. Our record attendance of 282 will not stand long. The Lord has provided for our financial needs. We have a mortgage of just under $550,000 on this great 11,700 square foot building. And though we seldom have had any extra, we have had enough, month after month. PRAISE GOD!

I’ve taken this trip down memory lane for a reason:

I WANT TO PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW! 

I WANT TO GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY FOR HELPING ME FULFILL MY CALLING. Looking back over the past 28 years I’ve said so many stupid things, acted without thinking, and been distracted when I should have been paying attention, that I am absolutely sure that any good that’s been accomplished has been because GOD IS FAITHFUL!  

I WANT TO THANK GOD FOR HIS SAVING AND SANCTIFYING GRACE! Though I have failed, He has never failed. Hallelujah! I’m so glad that Mercy’s door is wide open. I like the Apostle’s creed, “Forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth to the things that are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!” In Jesus’ name we press on!

I WANT TO THANK GOD FOR HIS GOOD PEOPLE WHO HAVE STOOD WITH ME! Without the prayers and support and help of God’s people no minister can persist. You have loved, cared, given, supported, lifted, encouraged, and been there when the burdens were greatest. You have prayed for me. I will be eternally grateful for God’s good people.

I WANT TO PRAISE THE LORD FOR A WONDERFUL WIFE AND A LOVING FAMILY. Many a minister has been discouraged from the work of the Lord by a critical and unwilling wife. I have been blessed with a loving, supportive, and faithful wife. She and her family have been a great blessing throughout these 28 years. And Tressa, our precious girl, is growing in grace. I am so thankful that she is saved and seeking to do God’s will.

I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I FULLY EXPECT THAT OUR JOB WILL GET TOUGHER BUT THAT GOD’S GRACE WILL ALWAYS BE SUFFICIENT! He has never failed us! Though professing Christian pretenders are preaching “another Gospel” that is not pure—GOD’S WORD WILL NOT FAIL! Though the church world is filled with compromise with the flesh, accommodation with the world, and the deceptions of the devil—GOD’S TRUTH IS MARCHING ON! Though wicked men will grow worse and worse, though evil men will try to strangle God’s messengers, and though the enemy will incite fierce persecution against us—WE WILL NOT BEND, WE WILL NOT BOW, AND LIKE THE HEBREW CHILDREN, WE WILL NOT BURN!

As the 87 year old John Wesley lay dying in London, surrounded by his friends and family, he rallied one last time and proclaimed in an unusually strong voice, “BEST OF ALL GOD IS WITH US!” Praise God! FINALLY I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT OUR FAITH IN THE FUTURE IS NOT FOUNDED ON THE EMPTY PROMISES OF MEN, BUT ON HIM WHO GAVE US THE EMPTY TOMB! We rejoice that indeed the wrong will fail, and the right will prevail! GOD IS WITH US.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,

But the church of Jesus constant will remain.

Gates of hell can never ‘gainst that church prevail;

We have Christ's own promise, that can never fail.

OH LORD, HOW LONG?

Until 9/11 America seemed impregnable. No longer. 

Who could have imagined that Islamic Jihadists huddled in an Afghan cave, could have been so successful at shattering our sense of safety, and challenging our world-class military complex? 

Peggy Noonan writes in today’s Wall Street Journal, “It marked the end of ‘we are protected,’ and the beginning of something else.”

It was a wake-up call that should have driven our nation to her knees in prayer to the God of our Fathers—but tolerance, now our foremost virtue, demanded we pray to the God of the Bible, and to the Great Spirit, and to the deities of the Hindus, and to the god’s of our own making, and even to Allah—the God who supposedly ordered this attack. Church attendance climbed for a few weeks after the attack, but it wasn’t long until football, fun-times, and family outings, were again our Sunday priorities.

It was a wake-up call that should have awakened us to our moral deficits—but we are more concerned with fiscal woes and government spending deficits. Immorality and irresponsibility are expensive. We must somehow find the funds to continue the party.

When a few ministers suggested that America’s immorality—abortion, sodomy, the breakup of the family, and unbridled greed—had lifted God’s hand of protection from our nation, they were quickly scorned into retractions.

It was a wake-up call that should have strengthened the resolve of America’s 350,000 ministers to call our nation to repentance, moral rectitude, and Biblical truth—but tragically there are fewer Men of God, who will prophetically and unapologetically stand for Scriptural holiness and righteousness. On a per capita basis there are fewer than at any other time in our nation’s history. (Barna)

It was a wake-up call that should have, and could have, been the beginning of a national revival of Scriptural Christianity, but it was not.

The attack of 9/11 was not a wake up call. But that’s not all!

The hurricanes were not.

The earthquakes were not.

The sunamis were not.

The tornadoes were not.

The fires were not.

The epidemics were not.

The great recession was not.

It seems that nothing will drive us to repent.

How long then should we continue to preach the truth of God’s Word?

How long then should we persist in our efforts to reach the lost of this nation?

How long then should we open the doors of our churches for services? (If they will not come should we keep opening the doors, turning on the lights, and preaching to empty pews?)

It was a question that Isaiah asked in His day. And the answer God gave him is our answer to the question.

“Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” Isaiah 6:11,12.

WHEN THE CAPTAIN TURNS THE "FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT" SIGN ON

With all the troubles in our world, our nation, and in the churches today, I sometimes feel like I'm on an airplane going through the ups and downs and turns of severe turbulence. As I was thinking about our plight, it occurred to me that if we were actually flying, the captain of the plane would be turning on the FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT sign right about now. 

 

I got really excited about preaching an original sermon, "WHEN THE CAPTAIN TURNS ON THE 'FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT' sign. Then I was more than a bit deflated to Google that title and discover that several other preachers had beat me to the punch. Oh well. Wasn't it Solomon who said, "There's nothing new under the sun."

 

Yet the concept is still something worth considering. And it seems to that Psalm 37 was written to passengers facing circumstances like we are facing.

 

FRET NOT thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

 

TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed...

 

DELIGHT THYSELF IN THE LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

 

COMMIT THY WAY UNTO THE LORD; TRUST also in him; and he shall bring it to pass...

 

REST IN THE LORD and wait patiently for him: ...

 

CEASE FROM ANGER and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil...

 

The STEPS OF A GOOD MAN ARE ORDERED by the LORD; and he delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand...

 

WAIT ON THE LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: ...

 

Remember the story of the lad who was a passenger on a plane heading into turbulence. The older passenger seated next to him was anxious and fearful, while the lad was calm and assured. When finally the older man asked why the lad was so confident the boy replied, "THE PILOT IS MY DAD!"

 

What a great comfort and joy it is know that we can trust the Pilot of our Souls! Nothing we face will come as a surprise to Him. No question we face is greater than His wisdom. No enemy we face is stronger than His power. 

 

Actually the only question we must answer is this: Will we let HIM be our pilot? Those who take the controls into their own hands are destined to defeat and destruction. Those who yield to Him, will testify,

 

I have found a deep peace that I never had known
And a joy this world could not afford -
Since I yielded control of my body and soul
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.

Chorus My wonderful Lord, my wonderful Lord By angels and seraphs in Heaven adored! I know Thou art mine, my Savior divine My wonderful, wonderful Lord.

I desire that my life shall be ordered by Thee
That my will be in perfect accord -
With Thine own sov'reign will
Thy desires to fulfill



All the talents I have I have laid at Thy Feet
Thy approval shall be my reward.
Be my store great or small
I surrender it all
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.
 

PASTOR RICK JONES
FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH of ST. LOUIS - CRUSADERS CHURCH USA2969 N. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Ann, MO 63047
Tel. (314) 298-5840; Cell. (314) 607-1424

E-mail: PastorRick@FCCToday.org
Web Page: www.FCCToday.org
Blog: www.PastorRickJones.blogspot.com

7 MAXIMS YOU SHOULDN'T LIVE BY

The songwriter declared, "Like a mighty Army moves the Church of God!"  But in too many quarters, the Church today is not mighty, it is not an Army, and we are not moving anywhere but backwards.

It is our conviction that so long so long as we are retreating from our Biblical mandate and pursuing after cultural relevance, rather than Spiritual excellence, we will never be the Church prevailing against the gates of hell.  We need a Gideon's band, a select force chosen by God and choosing God, who will take up the Cross and battle for the right.

In our series of messages ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS we are urging God's people to put on the whole armor of God.  It was not by accident that the Lord inspired the Apostle to urge God's people to first put on the belt of Truth.  Like wars between nations, in the war between Christ and satan, truth is often the first casualty.

We live our lives by "Maxims"--concise statements of what we think are basic truths, or laws of life.  Some are true. For example: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," "Deeds speak louder than words," and "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

BUT THE TRAGEDY OF OUR TIMES IS THAT SO MANY ARE FOLLOWING MAXIMS WE SHOULDN'T LIVE BY.  Here are 7:

1. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
I like the way G. K. Chesterton reacted to this popular maxim.  "Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true.  Once I remember walking with a prosperous publisher who made a remark which I had often heard before; it is indeed a motto of the modern world.  Yet I had heard it once too often, and I saw suddenly that there was nothing in it.  The publisher said, “That man will get on (be successful); he believes in himself.  …”Shall I tell you where the men are who believe most in themselves?  Asylums are filled with men who truly believe in themselves...  If you consulted your business experience rather than your ugly individualistic philosophy you would know that believing in yourself is one of the commonest signs of a rotter."  ORTHODOXY 1908.

How sad that people are convinced to believe in their frail, carnal, wicked selves, rather than in the One who can justify, sanctify, and empower us to be "more than conquerors!"

2. YOU CAN'T LEGISLATE MORALITY
Oh really? Every law is an expression of moral principal. 

God Himself certainly thought that morality could be specifically legislated, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” 

You cannot legislate compliance with the law, but you can legislate morality.  History proves that civilizations that align themselves with God's law will prosper.  Those who refuse God's Law, are actually refusing God himself. 

The reason men hate God's law is that they are carnal.  But the blood of Christ is not only sufficient to wash away the guilt of sin, but to "cleanse us from all unrighteousness," and sanctify the rebel out of our hearts.

3. IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT!
We have brought this maxim to bear on everything from how we treat one another, to what we do recreationally, to how we express ourselves sexually. 

Underlying this maxim is the assumption that feelings, not facts, are the arbiter of right and wrong.

When feeling is the foundation for moral principle, then the person who says “I feel that it is wrong for a man to marry 7 wives,” is no more wrong than the man who says “I feel like marrying a man.” 

4. GOD WANTS ME TO BE HAPPY!
Here is a partial truth that has led many into terrible tragedy.  When Jesus taught us how to Be Happy HE gave us the Beattitudes:  Mt 5:3-12

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye when (men) shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
You will note that this does say you will be happy by doing your will, having everything your way, or doing what feels right at the moment. 

Happiness is inextricable from Holiness! 

5. ALL ROADS LEAD TO HEAVEN (ALL RELIGIONS ARE THE SAME)
What fallacy.  There is a world of difference between religions that urge their followers to board planes, slash the throats of pilots, and slam aircraft into skyscrapers, and the religion of the One who said, "love your enemies."  There is a vast difference between a religion that teaches a mother to toss her infant into the Ganges River, and one that is led by Him who said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not."

In our day, sincerity trumps veracity.  Sadly many are sincere, but they are sincerely wrong. 

Those say that their religious views seem right, would do well to remember the Scripture, "there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

6.BECAUSE GOD LOVES ME -- HE WOULD NEVER SEND ME TO HELL
It is a wonderful truth!  "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."

But the fact of God's unconditional love for us, is not what determines our eternal destiny. If God's love was all that mattered, then all would go to heaven!  God loves the world.  God is not willing that any should perish. etc.

What determines our destiny is our love for God. 

People get all excited talking about God's unconditional love for them.  But when we talk about God's requirement that we love Him unconditionally, and they are not so enthusiastic.

Unless we love Him without reservation He cannot welcome us into the Holy City.  Everyone in heaven does the will of God, all the time.

7. I'M FREE TO CHOOSE!
Indeed God has made us free moral agents.  We can choose whether or not we will serve Him.  But we are not free to choose the outcome of our choice. 

We are kidding ourselves if we believe that we are free to live our lives as we choose and then free to choose our destiny. The inspired Apostle Paul wrote:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Galatians 6:7-8 KJV

So DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF... BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

DON'T RUN FROM GOD'S LAW... SEEK TO KNOW AND FOLLOW GOD'S LAW!  It's perfect.

DON'T DO WHAT FEELS GOOD... DO WHAT IS GOOD!

DON'T SEEK AFTER HAPPINESS... PURSUE AFTER HOLINESS!

DON'T MISTAKE SINCERITY FOR VERACITY... SEEK TO KNOW HIM WHO IS "THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE!"

DON'T REST IN GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR YOU ...GIVE HIM YOUR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!

And DON'T BE DECEIVED INTO THINKING THAT YOU WILL ESCAPE THE LAW OF SOWING AND REAPING.

Onward Christian Soldiers!

PASTOR RICK JONES
FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH - A CRUSADERS CHURCH OF AMERICA
2969 N. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Ann, MO 63074
Cell Phone (314) 607-1424
Facebook: Pastor Rick Jones (I would love to be your friend!)
Blog: www.PastorRickJones.blogspot.com
Web: www.FCCToday.org

Preaching Services: Sundays 11:00 AM & 6:30 PM